In the last few decades, after the arrival of personal computers, the world has been on a digital revolution. Many things in our lives have been affected by these capable machines, including finance, markets and the global economy. These changes are also accelerated by the appearance of many technology companies. Many investors are working with IT companies to ensure stronger domination in the future. In the future, the world will be strongly influenced by clusters of technology companies with strong financial and technical capabilities. They may have monopolies in their respective markets and ambitious businesspeople could literally alter the whole world. Steve Jobs had dreamed about highly capable mobile devices and millions people are using iPhone and iPad.
High tech companies are known for their specific features, such as valuable stocks and some of them have positive influx of money and virtually no debt. In this case, competition can be irrelevant and many larger companies simply absorb their potential competitors, especially if they have proprietary technologies that they can use. In this case, technology companies ensure continuous technological improvements and they will bring us new solutions and highly innovative products. These companies are known for their global presence, much of the time through their innovative software, not their physical products. Google, Facebook and Microsoft are companies known for their software-based solutions; while Apple offers both hardware and software products to common customers.
There are concerns that these gigantic technology companies will become so powerful that they become independent and don’t require any support from national governments and even financial institutions due to their strong financial postures. As an example, Google unofficially “owns” the Internet and Apple has acquired so much money that it could acquire any competitor in the market. Large social media networks are also able to shape the global politics and the Arab Spring was strongly decided by the frequent uses of Facebook to propagate ideas and coordinate activities. In fact, government changes in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia were influenced by intensive uses of social network platforms. These companies offer freedom of information and the digital technology is open to all.
Thanks to the technology companies, it is becoming harder for governments to keep secrets and there are actually tensions between countries when leaked information circulates through social media platforms. Governments are losing monopoly on information and average citizens are increasingly in control. This could ensure improved implementations of democracy and the whole world could eventually become a global Internet-based society. In some countries, the Internet could provide users with a sense of direct democracy and citizens have more voices in the society. Information could be transferred across border easily and much of this trend is attributed to major technology companies. It is not known when this trend will eventually bring us, but it is clear that major technology companies will become more powerful and influential in our society. For this reason, it is important for average consumer, user and citizen to continue assert their voices to provide a kind of balance.